Tag Archives: fuel prices

Schoesler says latest cap-and-trade carbon auction will raise fuel prices again

The recent carbon allowance auction held by the state Department of Ecology under the state’s costly cap-and-trade program will mean even higher fuel prices for drivers in Washington just as the summer driving season is about to start, says 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler.

“Drivers across Washington will pay even more at the pump thanks to the cap-and-trade program,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “Fuel prices typically rise when summer driving season arrives, and this latest auction by DOE will cause trips to the gas station to be even more expensive for both drivers here and those from other states who want to see Washington.”

Today’s release of the results from DOE’s May 31 auction showed that the price for a Washington carbon allowance was $56.01, up from $48.50 in the February auction. It is estimated that the new allowance price will translate to an additional charge of 45 cents a gallon at the pump. This is slightly higher than the estimated 39-cents-per-gallon impact from February’s auction by DOE.

A rough estimate for revenue raised in last week’s auction is about $480.8 million for current vintage allowances and about $76.2 million for future vintage allowances. The February auction collected nearly $300 million.

Schoesler said Gov. Inslee’s expensive cap-and-trade program, known as the Climate Commitment Act and approved by Democrat majorities in the Legislature in 2021, is taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of drivers’ wallets and handing it over to state agencies for various spending programs, all in the name of climate change.

“The latest carbon auction by DOE is just another example of the Democrats’ spending spree in Olympia that will affect people throughout Washington. Starting July 1, most workers across our state will also have to start paying an expensive payroll tax to fund a very flawed long-term care program.

“It’s shocking how Democrats actually seem to be proud about taking so much money away from citizens. Olympia needs to stop squeezing even more money out of hard-working taxpayers and instead start respecting them,” added Schoesler.

The report from Ecology’s May 31 auction can be viewed here.

Schoesler says fuel prices already climbing due to Democrats’ new environmental laws

Two environmental laws from the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee that took effect Jan. 1 are already causing fuel prices in Washington to rise, says state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville.

Schoesler, who represents eastern Washington’s 9th Legislative District, said he was notified by the Washington  Independent Energy Distributors Association. that wholesale gasoline and diesel prices have risen in Washington as a result of the “cap-and-tax” law and the law creating a low-carbon fuel standard. Both laws were passed by the Legislature in 2021 but did not take effect until now.

Schoesler said wholesale fuel numbers he saw this week revealed gasoline prices had increased by 33.06 cents a gallon due to the “cap-and-tax” law and by 1.54 cents per gallon because of the low-carbon fuel standard. Meanwhile, the wholesale price of a gallon of diesel rose by 42.35 cents as a result of cap-and-tax and by 1.46 cents due to LCFS. Schoesler noted heating-fuel prices also have sharply increased in recent days, with more than two months of winter ahead.

“The wholesale fuel prices that I saw clearly show that ‘cap-and-tax’ and the low-carbon fuel standard are forcing fuel prices to increase at eastern Washington gas stations, and western Washington gas stations likely will see a similar hike. This contradicts claims by the governor and some of his allies that ‘cap-and-tax’ and LCFS will cause fuel prices to go up by only a few cents a gallon.

“Ever since these two laws were passed by the Democrats and signed by the governor, I’ve warned that they will force fuel prices to significantly increase. Now that these laws have gone into effect, we’re seeing that they indeed are causing hikes in fuel and heating-oil prices. This will hurt nearly everyone – commuters, parents taking their kids places, truckers and delivery drivers, and those working in agriculture. These increases will act like a gas-tax hike, but with no guaranteed benefits for our roads and highways.”

Senate approves ‘high-cost fuel standard’ bill

The Senate tonight narrowly passed a bill that would create a “high-cost fuel standard” in Washington.

 House Bill 1091, approved 27-20, returns to the House of Representatives for concurrence, or agreement, with a Senate amendment to the proposal.

“This bill is the latest attempt by Governor Inslee to cram what he calls a ‘low-carbon’ fuel standard down Washingtonians’ throats,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “There certainly is no guarantee this bill would improve the climate, but we can be guaranteed that fuel costs will skyrocket once this bill becomes law. Worse yet, it will act like a very expensive gas tax, but without any benefit to our roads.”

Schoesler said the Puget Sound Area Clean Air agency estimates costs of a similar localized LCFS program in 2019 would increase 57 cents per gallon for gasoline and rise 63 cents a gallon for diesel.

“Between the sharp increase in fuel prices caused by this bill and the ‘cap and tax’ bill that the Senate passed earlier tonight, it’s going to be a total shock for drivers when they fill up at the pump once these bills are implemented,” said Schoesler. “If you need to drive long distances for work or other reasons, this one-two punch courtesy of the Democrats is going to hit your wallet hard. This bill punishes people who can least afford it, and it will hurt agriculture in our state by imposing extra costs on farmers. This bill will put our economy at risk. People should think of Governor Inslee when they pay more at the pump because he’s the one who wanted it all along.”

The proposal would direct the Department of Ecology to adopt rules aimed at achieving a 20% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from fuel by 2035.

Under HB 1091, refiners would be required to blend gas and diesel with advanced biofuels to reduce the carbon content of fuel. Only a 2-4%reduction in emissions can be accomplished this way, and this is only a small part of the program. Most of the program (80-90 percent) is about creating a “credit market” managed by Ecology, requiring refiners to pay for government-approved carbon-reduction programs. Costs likely would be passed on to consumers. At least half the money would go to programs to promote electric cars.

Schoesler says agricultural groups oppose ‘cap-and-tax’ bill, contrary to claims by Democrat senator

No one should believe claims that the state’s agricultural industry backs a Democratic senator’s “cap-and-tax” bill, considering how disastrous the proposal would be to this key part of Washington’s economy, says 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler.

Schoesler cited a recent story in the Capital Press agriculture publication in which reporter Don Jenkins quoted officials with the Washington Farm Bureau, Northwest Agricultural Cooperative Council and Washington’s Cattlemen’s Association. All countered Sen. Reuven Carlyle’s recent claim that the state’s agricultural industry is an “enthusiastic supporter” of the cap-and-tax proposal, Senate Bill 5126.

“When you have officials from these important ag groups all saying this claim by Senator Carlyle is false, it really makes you shake your head,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, who runs a wheat farm and is a fifth-generation farmer. “As someone who serves an agricultural district, I’ve been in touch with a wide section of people in this sector. At best, they are apprehensive about this proposal. At worst, they are flat-out against it. People need to remember that farmers and growers are price takers, not price setters. If this bill becomes law, it will drive up food prices, which is bad news for consumers, especially those on a small income.”

Senate Bill 5126 has been placed on the Senate’s voting calendar after being approved along party lines by the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee, Senate Ways and Means Committee and Senate Rules Committee.

“When Senator Carlyle claimed in Ways and Means that his bill has support from agriculture, he followed it with a mention of reforestation. Trees are definitely an important rotational crop in Washington, but if the good senator from Seattle doesn’t know our agricultural sector is about much more than forestry, I’d encourage him to leave the city and pay a visit to the farms that grow our food and are so important to trade in our state,” Schoesler said.

“The fact that this bill never went to the Senate Transportation Committee, despite the enormous effect it could have on the cost of fuel, clearly indicates Democratic leaders don’t care much about the negative effect it will have on drivers, and on companies that rely on our roads to ship products and goods,” said Schoesler.

People who wish to comment to Democratic leaders on a particular bill can call the toll-free Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and share their thoughts.

The 2021 legislative session is scheduled to end April 25.